Anderson .Paak On New Album In 2018: "Definitely"

The GRAMMY-nominated rapper and multi-instrumentalist has confirmed his next album is forthcoming in 2018

Brian Haack

GRAMMYs

Feb 7, 2018 - 3:12 pm

Anderson .Paak fans have some new music coming their way this week, as the GRAMMY-nominated rapper/singer, producer and multi-instrumentalist is featured on the Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith and Kendrick Lamar co-curated soundtrack to Marvel's Black Panther, due on Friday, Feb. 9. It's been a long wait — just over two years — since the release of .Paak's last album Malibu, but his featured track on Black Panther: The Album won't have to hold fans over for long, as just this week he has confirmed he will soon have a new record ready for release.

.Paak told Triple J in a recent interview that his still-untitled third LP is currently, "just going through the mixing phase," before adding, "I won’t say any dates but you can definitely expect it this year," hinting that production wizard and frequent collaborator Dr. Dre, "had a heavy role in this new album." As the icing on the cake, .Paak also confirmed that his backing band The Free Nationals have a new album of their own due out in 2018.

.Paak's previous album Malibu arrived in early 2016 amid widespread acclaim, and was heralded by music critics as the beginning of his commercial breakthrough as a solo artist, especially in light of his prominent placements on six tracks from Dr. Dre's long-awaited third album Compton the year prior. Malibu also earned .Paak GRAMMY nominations for Best New Artist and Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 59th GRAMMY Awards, as well as his first trip to the GRAMMY Stage, where he performed a politically-charged medley with A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes, and Consequence.

Dr. Dre joined his frequent collaborator onstage in London for a special guest performance

Brian Haack

GRAMMYs

Mar 14, 2018 - 12:22 pm

GRAMMY-nominated rapper/singer, drummer and producer Anderson .Paak pulled out all the stops at his latest show in London on Mar. 13, surprising the gathered crowd with an unexpected cameo from one of hip-hop's biggest legends.

Though .Paak's set at London's O2 Brixton Academy kicked off a bit later than was advertised, there was zero grumbling from the audience, who exploded into a chorus of cheers as the one and only Dr. Dre stepped out onto the stage, joining .Paak for a medley of classic GRAMMY-nominated tracks including "Still D.R.E." and "The Next Episode," both from Dre's Best Rap Album-nominated 2001.

The Doctor has long been one of .Paak's biggest advocates, with large sections of his 2015 LP Compton serving as a coming-out party of sorts for the multi-talented young star, with .Paak's name totaling a whopping six marquee features on the 16-track album. In the years since, Dre has continued to be a vocal supporter of .Paak's deep well of talent, and .Paak has revealed that the pair work on song ideas together almost constantly, according to Hot New Hip Hop. "Whenever I’m in town I just go over there and kick it with him and make something, and we just put it away," .Paak says. "I’m always making music so I’m always sending him ideas."

.Paak also revealed to Triple J Radio that his still-untitled forthcoming new album – will he says will "definitely" drop this year – features substantial collaboration with Dre, who .Paak hints "had a heavy role" in shaping the new album.

For his own part, Dre continues to operate from within the cloud of mystery that surrounds the status of his apocryphal Detox album, now in the early years of its second decade of production limbo. Over the years, the flow of details about the album has been alternatingly sparse and abundant, with Consequence Of Sound finally reporting in 2015 that Dre had officially laid Detox to rest, choosing instead to devote his efforts to Compton.

I asked Dr. Dre if Detox is permanently shelved and he replied, “I’m working on a couple songs right now. We’ll see.”

All the same, early 2018 saw the rumor mill start grinding once again as whispers and tweets began to circulate that the project may yet have risen from the grave. Though such claims remain officially unsubstantiated, it's not unthinkable, given .Paak and Dre's history of close collaboration, that the future (whether near or far) may still yet hold the potential for an Anderson .Paak-heavy Detox release. Only time will tell.

Dave Matthews Band Reveal Release Date For New Album 'Come Tomorrow'

The GRAMMY-winning jam band heroes are back with info on their ninth studio album

Brian Haack

GRAMMYs

Apr 25, 2018 - 5:04 pm

It's been a remarkably quiet five months since Dave Matthews, singer/songwriter/guitarist and bandleader for the GRAMMY-winning jam band movement that is Dave Matthews Band, announced their first new studio album in six years and an extended summer tour. However, it seems the drought of information is now over, as Matthews revealed on April 25 that his cadre of merry pranksters' ninth studio album, Come Tomorrow, is officially due out on June 8.

While promotional singles have yet to be released, but Matthews has teased several new songs, including "Samurai Cop," at live shows as far back as FarmAid 2016. The band plans to debut much of the music from the new album during their North American tour, according to Billboard.

Additionally, all advance tickets purchased online for the band's 2018 summer tour will include a digital download or physical CD option as part of the purchase price, which fans will be able to redeem once Come Tomorrow is officially released.

The Dave Matthews Band's 2018 summer tour will kick off on May 18 in Woodlands, Texas, and run through Sept. 10, where it will conclude at L.A.'s historic Hollywood Bowl. Tickets to come shows and full tour details can be found on the band's official website.

Nas Dropping New Album In June, Produced Entirely By Kanye West

The album announcement adds to a stacked lineup of forthcoming new albums produced by West, to be released consecutively over five weeks

Brian Haack

GRAMMYs

Apr 23, 2018 - 12:32 pm

June 2018 will official mark the welcome return of Yeezy Season. After returning to Twitter earlier this month to spout philosophy and finally announce new music, GRAMMY-winning rapper/producer Kanye West still had one more bombshell to drop on his salivating fanbase: a new album from legendary New York rapper Nas, produced entirely by West himself.

The upcoming, as-yet-untitled Nas album will be the Brooklyn rapper's 12th studio LP, but his first release since 2012's Life If Good, ending the longest creative hiatus of his career since first releasing Illmatic in 1994.

For his own part, West seems intent on making up for lost time, as he has now announced a total of five albums, including his hotly-anticipated eighth solo album and a new surprise collaboration with Kid Cudi as Kids See Ghost, for which the Chicago native assumed all production duties. The albums are set for release once a week for five consecutive week throughout late May and on through June.

I'm hand producing all the albums I tweeted about. Been chopping samples from the sunken place Pusha May 25th My album June 1st me and Cudi June 8th and Teyana June 22nd and oh yeah...

Kanye West Sets Internet Afire By Announcing Release Of Two New Albums

Yeezus returns with release date announcements for a new solo album and a new collaboration

Brian Haack

GRAMMYs

Apr 19, 2018 - 2:47 pm

Amid Kanye West's ongoing social experiment that's seen him writing a book on philosophy by tweeting it one post at a time, the GRAMMY-winning rapper has ignited a firestorm by apparently announcing the release dates of not one, but two new albums, both set to drop during the first week of June.

Following a lengthy hiatus from social media – during which he ostensibly retreated to the mountains of Wyoming to begin crafting his latest opus with the help of Kid Cudi, Nas, Travis Scott, Drake, and others – Yeezus resurrected his Twitter account, previously dormant for 11 months, and began hurling psalm-like advice and other inscrutable tweets into the social ether.

often people working with the existing consciousness are jealous of those who are more in touch and they become hard-core capitalist in hopes of creating the illusion that the value of money is worth more than the value of time and friends

During a recent interview with his interior design collaborator Axel Vervoordt in The Hollywood Reporter, West expounded further on his newfound Zen, saying "We do these sneakers that sell out and [people say], 'Oh, this is the number one brand' ... and I don't wish to be number one anymore, I wish to be water."

Over the days since the April 13 interview, West has continued his enigmatic tweets, trading deadpan assertions such as "trend is always late," and "stop lyin about s***. Just stop lyin" with longer missives like, "let's be less concerned with ownership of ideas. It is important that ideas see the light of day even if you don't get the credit for them. Let's be less concerned with credit awards and external validation."

All of which brings us finally to today, where just hours ago West dropped the bombshell(s) across a rapid-fire series of four tweets:

And, of course, the web immediately lit up with speculation. Already the unofficial Kanye West subreddit has a stickied thread titled ALBUM HYPE, and articles are likely being written or already live on every major music publication as we speak.

According to Pitchfork, West filed trademark paperwork for "Kids See Ghost" for, "coverage of everything from merch to streaming services to films and TV shows," leading us to question whether West's plan for his collaboration with Cudi will come as a follow-up of sorts to his previous GRAMMY-winning supergroup-style teamwork with Jay-Z as heard on Watch The Throne.

Details on official titles for both West's new solo album and his forthcoming matchup with Kid Cudi remain forthcoming, but at the time of this writing, West has also revealed that a long-awaited new album from Pusha T and new music from Teyana Taylor will be released on May 25 and June 22, respectively.

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